The current wikipedia definition states that glycomics “is the comprehensive study of glycomes, including genetic, physiologic, pathologic, and other aspects. The term glycomics is derived from the chemical prefix for sweetness or a sugar, "glyco-", and was formed to follow the naming convention established by genomics (which deals with genes) and proteomics (which deals with proteins). The identity of the entirety of carbohydrates in an organism is thus collectively referred to as the glycome.”

This area of research deals with an inherent level of complexity not seen in other areas of biology. Whereas genes have four building blocks, proteins have 20 and the saccharides have a multitude of building blocks. While these building blocks can be attached only linearly for proteins and genes, they can be arranged in a branched array for saccarides, further increasing the degree of complexity. Advances in Glycomics are anticipated to be driven by improvements in molecular sequencing and bioinformatics, which is computational organization and processing of sequence data.

While this definition seems complete, the field of Glycomics is vast and diverse in nature. The study of Glycobiology is related to nature on a cellular level. One can expect the nature of research to be as diverse as the human organism itself. Some interviews on Impact of Glycomics will primarily discuss glycomics as related to specific diseases. Others will be focused on drug therapy production, and some will be studying complex cellular conversions. The Study of Glycobiology is related to nature on a cellular level, thus partially explaining the complexity of Glycomics research -- as the human organism is quite intricate itself.